Factory farmers use a variety of nasty additives on animals,
including antibiotics, and a slew of news articles is now highlighting yet another:
ractopamine.
Ractopamine, in a nutshell, is a drug administered to pigs
that causes them to gain weight and put on more muscle. Although it’s
considered safe by the FDA, many countries have banned the drug altogether.
According to NPR,
“Safety regulators in the European Union, China, Russia and
a variety of other countries have not approved the drug. They say there’s
not yet enough evidence to prove that pork produced using ractopamine is safe
to eat.
Administered to the majority of pigs in the United States,
ractopamine raises concerns about the effect of the drug not only on human
health, but also on animals, who reportedly suffer from receiving too much of
the drug.
While the general public is largely in the dark about these
kinds of growth promotants, big buyers of American pork, namely China, feel
strongly about ractopamine and won’t accept meat from pigs who were administered
the drug.
While such additives are concerning, what’s more disturbing
is the cruel
treatment of pigs on modern farms. Subjected to extreme confinement, mutilations
without painkillers, and a brutal slaughter, pigs raised for pork are treated
as mere meat-producing machines.
By ditching pork in favor of healthy, humane alternatives, you
can withdraw your support of an industry that treats animals as unfeeling
objects and protect your health from controversial additives.
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